A SECONDARY school headteacher has praised pupils and parents for attempting to continue the youngsters’ education during challenging times.

Schools throughout East Lothian shut their doors on March 20 – two weeks before they were scheduled to close for the Easter break – due to the coronavirus.

The earlier closure has created challenges to ensure pupils are still receiving education but Sue Cook, headteacher at Knox Academy in Haddington, took time out to praise pupils, parents and carers.

Ms Cook said: “Thank you to you all as parents/carers for facilitating learning at home and trying to maintain a routine with your young person (people) as this can be quite a challenge, especially as many of you will be continuing working from home too.

“If your young person can manage to do two/three hours of learning a day that is really great as we know that access to laptops etc. may be required by other family members as well.

“Too much screen time is also not great for them and time off computers and devices can also be productive.

“Encouraging young people to exercise, outside if possible, to get some fresh air into their lungs should be encouraged as this is great for both mental and physical health.

“Reading a book is also excellent for developing literacy and extending their vocabulary which in turn helps support learning across all subjects.

“This time of school closure and Covid-19 should also afford you time to connect as a family and engage in other activities such as baking or cooking dinner, playing board games or them doing some household chores.”

Ms Cook offered “a huge well done” to the many youngsters who had “engaged really well” with remote/home-schooling.

She highlighted pupils could continue to engage with their teachers through Google Classroom, and added there were a range of other websites which offered information, such as Scholar UK and BBC Bitesize.